UK to scrap warships, military helicopters and fleet of drones to save money despite threats abroad
The UK will scrap five warships, dozens of military helicopters and a fleet of drones to save money despite growing threats from Russia and a war raging in Europe.
John Healey, the defence secretary, announced the dramatic move in parliament on Wednesday, saying it would save up to half a billion pounds over the next five years.
The defence secretary described the equipment being axed as “outdated” and said the “common sense” decision to retire them was long overdue.
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He signalled the decision was part of a plan to restructure and modernise the armed forces, which have already been significantly reduced in size following decades of cost-saving cuts, with new capabilities due to come online to replace the gaps.
“We face increasing global threats,” Mr Healey said in a written statement that was released at the same time as he addressed MPs.
“War in Europe, growing Russian aggression, conflict in the Middle East and technology changing the nature of warfare. As a result, defence needs increased resilience and readiness for the future.”
At the same time, though, he said the defence budget faced “serious financial pressures”.
Defence Secretary John Healey speaking in parliament on Wednesday
He repeated a pledge that the government would set out a course to lift the defence budget to 2.5% of national income – but yet again without giving a date.
The defence secretary then spelt out what “difficult decisions” meant in reality.
“To ensure that Britain is kept secure at home and strong abroad in a changing world, defence needs to make changes too. Difficult decisions are required,” he said.
The weapons systems on the chopping block are:
• The Royal Navy’s two amphibious assault ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark. They will be taken out of service at the end of the year – around a decade early in a blow to the ability of the Royal Marines to launch land assaults from the sea.
• A fleet of 17 Royal Air Force Puma helicopters, as well as 14 of the military’s oldest Chinook helicopters
• A fleet of 46 Watchkeeper drones – each worth about £5m – barely six years since they entered into service
• HMS Northumberland, a Type 23 frigate, which is in need of costly repairs and has already operated well beyond an 18-year out-of-service date
• Two large Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler – vessels which carry fuel and supplies to enable the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers to operate around the world.
Mr Healey also hinted that further cuts would follow.
“These will not be the last difficult decisions I will have to make, to fix the defence inheritance that we were left with,” he told MPs.
HMS Albion is due for the chopping block. File pic: Reuters
HMS Bulwark. Pic: PA
The announcement, while uncomfortable, is designed to be the least damaging way to reduce costs while retaining capability.
It comes ahead of a plan by the government to publish a sweeping new review of defence in the spring, which is being drawn up by an external team and is expected to recommend extensive changes across the army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
The Ministry of Defence says that the equipment that is being axed – the term used is “accelerated retirement” – was selected because it is outdated and military chiefs need to focus finite money and personnel instead on the weapons systems most suited to modern warfare.
However, Russia’s war in Ukraine has demonstrated that old, outdated weapons are better than no weapons at all.
‘Wars of national survival’
Sky News’ military analyst offered his opinion on the announcement from the defence secretary.
Speaking on Sky News Today with Kamali Melbourne, he said: “There’s two things that jump out.
“There’s a reconfiguration going on in defence, it’s become a more dangerous world.
“For like 30 years defence has been about wars of choice, expeditionary wars, going out.
“So we’ve needed transport, we’ve needed landing ships to take people away.
“While the purists would say you need to wait for the Defence Review to conclude, it’s common sense that the direction of travel is less about wars of choice and more about wars of national survival, then you need to make every pound you spend focus on that.
“Therefore, if you’ve got some ships and equipment that’s just moribund and waiting, it costs you to keep that in dry dock and keep it maintained.
“[There’s] one thing that’s not being talked about… if you look at it from a grand strategic perspective, 6% of the defence budget is largely spent on the deterrent, the nuclear capability. We’re in the middle of a period where we’re changing and upgrading the capability and in broad handfuls, we’re spending another 6% to replace it.
“In addition, £3bn is coming out to go to Ukraine… so rather than 6% of the defence budget, it’s something like 18% that’s not available for conventional military capability in other words a significant cut.
“Somehow you’ve got to square the books.”
The Russian armed forces have relied heavily on old tanks, artillery guns and helicopters to fight after the weapons they used in the first weeks and months of the war were destroyed.
It takes years to build warships and helicopters.
Sir Keir Starmer will face uncomfortable challenges at the sight of amphibious assault vessels and Chinook transport helicopters being sold off or scrapped regardless of how old they are.
Yet it costs money to keep equipment in storage just in case it is needed.
Limited funds allocated to defence mean that military chiefs appear to have decided that scrapping weapons early is the least worst option.
The decision to scrap the British Army’s Mark 1 version of the Watchkeeper drone at a time when drones are such a dominant asset on the battlefield may also be tricky to defend.
A Watchkeeper drone on display in France in 2012. File pic: AP
However, the programme has been beset by delays, cost overruns and flaws.
The first Watchkeeper drones only started operating around 2018 – some eight years late.
They also struggle to operate in poor weather conditions – limiting their utility.
The rapid pace of evolving technology in drone warfare – where the development cycle is a mere six to eight weeks – means that the technology inside Watchkeeper, which was conceived of more than 14 years ago, may well be easily defeated in a fight.
It is understood that scrapping the aircraft means that the army will be able to focus money on developing new innovative drone capabilities.
Efforts to pass crypto legislation in the US Senate face mounting resistance amid growing ethical concerns around US President Donald Trump’s ties to crypto.
In a May 5 letter to the Office of Government Ethics, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley said that Trump and his family stand to personally profit from an investment involving UAE state-backed firm MGX, crypto exchange Binance and World Liberty Financial (WLFI).
The senators called for an urgent probe, warning the deal may violate the US Constitution’s Emoluments Clause and federal bribery statutes.
At the center of the controversy is WLFI’s USD1 stablecoin, reportedly chosen for a $2 billion investment MGX plans to make into Binance.
The senators said the transaction amounts to a potential backdoor for foreign influence and self-enrichment, with Trump’s allies allegedly set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars:
“This deal raises the troubling prospect that the Trump and Witkoff families could expand the use of their stablecoin as an avenue to profit from foreign corruption.”
Further complicating ethics concerns, Trump hosted a $1.5 million-per-plate dinner on May 5 at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia. The event came just days after hosting a $1 million-per-plate fundraiser for the MAGA super PAC.
He also plans to hold a gala dinner with major Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin holders on May 22, despite multiple US lawmakers expressing concerns.
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GENIUS Act faces roadblocks
The Trump family’s controversial $2 billion crypto deal comes as the Senate prepares to vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act and other crypto-related bills.
The fallout is already being felt in Congress. Some Democratic lawmakers are pushing for additional hearings before advancing any legislation, while others question whether Trump’s personal stake in digital assets is undermining bipartisan support for crypto regulation.
On May 5, Senate Majority Leader John Thune signaled a willingness to amend the GOP-backed stablecoin legislation to pass the bill in the coming weeks.
Speaking to reporters, Thune said changes can be made on the floor and that he is waiting to hear what Democrats are asking for, per a report from Politico.
Internal GOP challenges also remain, with Senator Rand Paul expressing uncertainty about backing the bill, according to the report.
The stalling isn’t limited to the Senate. House Financial Services Committee ranking member Representative Maxine Waters plans to block a Republican-led event discussing digital assets on May 6.
The hearing, “American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets,” will discuss a new crypto markets draft discussion paper pitched by the House agricultural and financial services committee chairs, Representatives Glenn Thompson and French Hill, respectively.
Related: Elizabeth Warren joins call for probe of Trump over crypto tokens
Crypto community slams political pushback
Prominent crypto figures are speaking out as political resistance threatens to derail stablecoin legislation in the Senate.
“Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer haven’t learned their lesson,” Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, posted on X.
“If they want Democrats to continue losing elections, they will continue standing in front of crypto legislation like the stablecoin bill which they are stalling out in the Senate.”
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Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius, has blasted the government’s 20-year “venom-laced” sentence request, declaring it a “death-in-prison sentence.”
The US Department of Justice requested Mashinsky receive at least 20 years behind bars in the May 8 sentencing for his role in misleading Celsius users and profiting from the price manipulation of Celsius (CEL), which would make the 59-year-old 79 if he serves the whole sentence.
Lawyers acting for Mashinsky argued in a May 5 reply memorandum filed in a New York district court that he should receive no more than 366 days, because the DOJ hasn’t taken into account his status as a nonviolent first-time offender with a previously unblemished 30-year history in business.
“The government’s venom-laced submission recasts this case as one involving a predator with an intent to target victims, harm them, and steal their money,” they said.
“It concludes by recommending that a first time, nonviolent offender who pled guilty and accepts responsibility receive a death-in-prison sentence.”
Mashinsky pleaded guilty to two out of seven charges
As part of a plea agreement, Mashinsky pleaded guilty in December 2024 to commodities fraud and manipulating the price of CEL, earning $48 million by selling his holdings before Celsius collapsed in June 2022. Prosecutors initially filed seven charges in July 2023.
Lawyers acting for Mashinsky allege the DOJ’s push for a 20-year sentence is because their client is unwilling to “capitulate to the government’s exaggerated characterizations of his actions,” specifically that he was a “fraud from the get-go.”
“Alex is inserted as the scapegoat for every corporate action, every group decision, every unanimous vote, every market fluctuation, and every employee’s watercooler speculation,” they said.
As part of its April 28 sentencing request, the DOJ said Mashinsky’s guilty plea showed that his crimes were deliberate, calculated decisions to lie, deceive and steal.
Days earlier on April 23, US federal prosecutors also filed statements from hundreds of victims who lost money due to the Celsius collapse. They detailed how some had entrusted their life savings to the protocol, believing Mashinsky’s assurances that it was safe.
Related: What do crypto users want to happen to Alex Mashinsky?
Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022, owing $4.7 billion to creditors after halting withdrawals in June, citing volatile market conditions.
In November 2023, a US bankruptcy court approved Celsius’ restructuring plan to repay customers, and in August 2024, $2.53 billion was paid to 251,000 creditors.
Former Celsius chief revenue officer Roni Cohen-Pavon also pleaded guilty in September 2023 to similar charges, but his Dec. 11 sentencing has been delayed until after Mashinsky is sentenced.
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A Russian-Israeli citizen allegedly involved in the $190 million Nomad bridge hack will soon be extradited to the US after he was reportedly arrested at an Israeli airport while boarding a flight to Russia.
Alexander Gurevich will be investigated for his alleged involvement in several “computer crimes,” including laundering millions of dollars and transferring stolen property allegedly connected to the Nomad Bridge hack in 2022, The Jerusalem Post reported on May 5.
Gurevich returned to Israel from an overseas trip on April 19 but was ordered to appear before the Jerusalem District Court for an extradition hearing soon after, according to the report.
On April 29, Gurevich changed his name in Israel’s Population Registry to “Alexander Block” and received a passport under that name at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport the next day.
He was arrested at the same airport two days later, on May 1, while waiting to board a flight to Russia.
Gurevich allegedly identified a vulnerability in the Nomad bridge, which he exploited and stole roughly $2.89 million worth of tokens from in August 2022.
Dozens of copycat hackers discovered and capitalized on the security vulnerability soon after, leading to a total loss of $190 million.
Gurevich allegedly reached out to a Nomad executive on Telegram
Prosecutors allege that shortly after the hack, Gurevich messaged Nomad’s chief technology officer, James Prestwich, on Telegram using a fake identity, admitting that he had been “amateurishly” seeking a crypto protocol to exploit.
He allegedly apologized for “the trouble he caused Prestwich and his team” and voluntarily transferred about $162,000 into a recovery wallet the company had set up.
Prestwich told Gurevich that Nomad would pay him 10% of the value of the assets he had stolen, to which Gurevich responded that he would consult his lawyer. However, Nomad never heard back from him after that.
At some point during the negotiations, Gurevich demanded a reward of $500,000 for identifying the vulnerability.
Related: Do Kwon is in US custody after extradition battle
US federal authorities filed an eight-count indictment against Gurevich in the Northern District of California on Aug. 16, 2023, in addition to obtaining a warrant for his arrest. California is where the team behind the Nomad bridge is based.
The US submitted a formal extradition request in December 2024, the Post noted.
The money laundering charges that Gurevich faces carry a maximum of 20 years, significantly harsher than what he would face in Israel.
Gurevich is believed to have arrived in Israel a few days before the $190 million exploit occurred, prompting Israeli officials to believe he carried out the attack while in Israel.
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